Letters: Timoney honorable, tough, and fair
John Timoney gets laid to rest Tuesday. People wondered why I lobbied John Street so hard to retain Timoney as police commissioner.
ISSUE | JOHN F. TIMONEY
Timoney honorable, tough, and fair
John Timoney gets laid to rest Tuesday. People wondered why I lobbied John Street so hard to retain Timoney as police commissioner.
Just before Street's first debate with Sam Katz in the 1999 mayoral race, I had a detailed conversation with Street about the value of keeping Timoney on. And he did after he was elected.
Also around that time, I ran a civic association. Timoney felt a synergy with our Pennsport community and twice showed up at our civic meetings to discuss quality-of-life issues.
Timoney once summoned me to a Walnut Street Fair. Those were boom times for new construction in the city, and collective bargaining and prevailing wages always became issues. For two hours, Timoney and I discussed the ideological reasons behind our union protests.
When the city hosted the Republican National Convention in 2000, Timoney wanted to know every aspect of our roles and issues. Labor has never been treated more fairly and allowed to exercise our First Amendment rights than under Timoney. He was a tough but fair man and an honorable leader of our police department, who was always willing to listen.
Rest in peace.
John J. Dougherty, business manager, IBEW Local 98, Philadelphia